Around the World in 2497 Days

I don’t normally give props for this kind of stuff. I don’t like country collectors. I don’t like goals to “visit 100 countries before I’m 35.” To me, this isn’t what travel is about. But this guy, Kashi Samaddar, doesn’t pretend to be a traveler.

They berate him for not getting in Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, or the white sand beaches of the Cook Islands. But everyone’s seen all that stuff.

Show me the inside of a London office while standing beside some random guy, or a self-portrait in Greenland with a pram arbitrarily placed to your left, and I’m all over it.

Now that’s something you don’t see every day.

An ulterior motive

The idea to travel to every country on the planet occurred to Mr. Samaddar after getting stuck in Johannesburg due to visa issues. He wanted to highlight the difficulties of some nationalities obtaining visas — Indians, for one.

And even though he had opportunities to become a Canadian or Australian citizen — which would have made things much easier — he chose to keep his Indian citizenship. He wanted to prove that someone from India could travel anywhere in the world.

Even though he had major problems getting some visas — it took him almost three years to get one for Moldova — he got it done in the end.

COMMUNITY CONNECTION

What do you think of Mr. Samaddar’s record? Share your comments below!

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. For more information on how we use cookies consult our revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.